You can get to know Ehlanzeni through very different discoveries: the Blyde River Canyon, the bushveld of the Manyeleti Game Reserve, and the geological heritage around Barberton. Rather than using a single landscape as your point of reference, you can consider when planning your trip whether you are most interested in dramatic landforms, wildlife experiences, or cultural and geological history. Each place offers its own distinctive focus.

The Blyde River Canyon: scale and vegetation

The Blyde River Canyon is 26 kilometres long and about 800 metres deep on average. It is the world’s third-largest canyon, after the Grand Canyon in the United States and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia. As the largest “green canyon,” it owes this name to its lush subtropical vegetation. It also has the tallest sheer cliffs of any canyon on the planet. Its length, average depth and vegetation offer different ways of looking at the landscape: you can focus on its scale as well as the character shaped by its lush greenery.

Manyeleti and Kruger: different ways to experience the bushveld

The Manyeleti Game Reserve offers a bushveld experience with the Big Five. The name Manyeleti means “place of stars” in the local Shangaan language, adding a linguistic dimension to the nature theme. You can drive yourself along the park’s 200-kilometre road network, choose a guided drive in an open vehicle, or set out on foot with experienced rangers. The options differ in how you get around: drive yourself, travel in an open vehicle, or set out on foot.

In Kruger National Park, drives last 3 to 3.5 hours, during which you can watch the sunrise over pristine bushveld. This duration helps you assess the drive as a distinct block of time in your itinerary.

Barberton: valleys and geological history

The Barberton Nature Reserve covers 27,541 hectares. The Noord-Kaap River runs through the protected area in a broad valley; a steep escarpment lies on its northern side, while lower hills rise to the south. The river, valley and changing landforms give you concrete points of reference for picturing this landscape.

In Mpumalanga, the Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains make up 40 percent of the Barberton Greenstone Belt. Their volcanic and sedimentary rocks are 3.6 to 3.25 billion years old. This geological timescale adds a long history of the Earth to the description of the landscape and connects the nature theme with a look at how the rocks formed.

Mbombela: World Heritage and designed nature

The city of Mbombela includes part of the Makhonjwa Mountain World Heritage Site. The city’s Lowveld National Botanical Garden also has a man-made rainforest. These offer two different ways of connecting with nature: part of a World Heritage Site and a designed rainforest in a botanical garden. If you would like to consider nature and cultural heritage from different perspectives, each of these features offers its own approach.

Getting your bearings in Nkomazi and Andover

The Nkomazi Municipality is connected to Eswatini by two provincial roads, and to Mozambique by a railway line and the N4 national highway. The Malalane Gate to Kruger National Park is also located in the municipality. A separate driving note concerns Andover Nature Reserve: its road network is suitable for all vehicles. These reference points range from the municipality’s transport links to specific information about a protected area’s road network.

Discover more destinations

Manyeleti Camp, Kiepersol, Kruger Park, Blyde, White River, Bushbuckridge, Emoyeni, Mbombela, Alkmaar, Sabie Park, Schoemanskloof, Steenbok, Louw's Creek, Weimershoek, Kaapschehoop

For the broader travel overview: Mpumalanga.